cursive
Americanadjective
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(of handwriting) in flowing strokes with the letters joined together.
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Printing. in flowing strokes resembling handwriting.
noun
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a cursive letter or character.
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Printing. a style of typeface simulating handwriting.
adjective
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of or relating to handwriting in which letters are formed and joined in a rapid flowing style
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printing of or relating to typefaces that resemble handwriting
noun
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a cursive letter or printing type
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a manuscript written in cursive letters
Other Word Forms
- cursively adverb
- cursiveness noun
- noncursive adjective
- noncursively adverb
- transcursive adjective
- transcursively adverb
Etymology
Origin of cursive
1775–85; < Medieval Latin cursīvus flowing (said of penmanship), equivalent to Latin curs ( us ) (past participle of currere to run) + -īvus -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I stole a quick glance at her paper, the loopy cursive writing as neat and tidy as her hair.
From Literature
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This feels important enough to warrant a metaphor, yet too complicated to be summed up by any single letter—even a cursive capital G, if those still exist.
From Barron's
She could play chess, divide fractions, write in cursive, and do a strong-voiced recitation of at least three different Shakespearean sonnets.
From Literature
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Lady Constance rarely had the patience to write these herself, and her cursive letters were loopy to the point of being illegible.
From Literature
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“Will do,” it read in his own dear, sweet, familiar cursive, with its poetic loops and flourishes.
From Literature
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.